A tiny British firm has won a legal victory - and a huge payout - from U.S. construction giants who stole the secret of a vital piece of heavy machinery.

Miller UK, based in Cramlington, Northumberland, has been awarded $74million (around £50million) by a U.S. federal court, which found that Caterpillar had ripped off their product and made millions from it.

Jurors found that Miller had stolen the idea behind the Miller Coupler Bug - a piece of heavy machinery which connects the arms of construction vehicles to attachments like buckets and demolition equipment.

Celebration: The Miller siblings (left to right) Gary, Keith and Jaqui, are pictured above celebrating a legal triumph for their business over Caterpillar, whom a court found stole industrial secrets from them

Caterpillar used to sell Miller's under a licensing agreement which made both of the companies huge amount of cash.

But after Caterpillar scrapped the arrangement in 2008, their own version of the device soon started rolling off the production lines.

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Miller UK, founded in 1974 by Keith Miller, sued Caterpillar in a federal court in Chicago, claiming that the only way they could have developed the knock-off was by using secret plans from the previous deal.

Big red moneymaker: Miller is the company behind the Miller Bug Coupler, the red item at the top of the picture above which links the arms of heavy construction machinery with attachments like the bucket, above

Small firm: Miller UK is based in Cramlington, a small English town just outside Newcastle

The British company said it lost so much business as a result of the busted partnership that it had to lay off 300 of its 400 employees.

It also suffered heavily in the financial crisis that followed without the revenue from the overseas partnership.

Miller UK was awarded $74million in exemplary damages by the Chicago court - but the total cost to Caterpillar is expected to exceed $100million after interest and legal fees.

Responding to the victory, Jacqui Miller, company founder Keith Miller's sister, said: 'This result is a win not only for my brothers and me, but for small businesses the world over.

'It proves that with belief, a huge amount of tenacity and the right legal team, that anything is possible. This has taken five long years to conclude and justice has been served.'